Dear Canadians …

I do not generally get political here (although there have been the rare exceptions) but, in a world-wide environment (internet blogging), those of you who are not living in North America may find the following enlightening. I obviously cannot speak for all Canadians, but there will be many that would agree with the statement – “Donald Trump, we’re no threat to you … so don’t be a bigger idiot with the US/Canadian Trade Agreement than you have already demonstrated.”

It is reassuring that there are many Americans that agree with us, and the following is worth reading. It is (apparently) an open letter written by a Florida judge about the Canada/USA relationships & history.

Robert Meadows (Circuit Court Judge, Florida) wrote:

Here is one American’s take on the growing trade war with the US and Canada.

“Have you ever stopped to consider how lucky we Americans are to have the neighbors we have? Look around the globe at who some folks have been stuck sharing a border with over the past half century:

North Korea / South Korea

West Germany / East Germany

Greece / Turkey

Iran / Iraq

Israel / Palestine

India / Pakistan

China / Russia

We’ve got Canada! Canada. About as inoffensive a neighbor as you could ever hope for. In spite of all our boasts of “American exceptionalism” and chants of “America first,” they just smile, do their thing and go about their business. They are on average more educated, have a higher standard of living, free health care, and almost no gun problems. They treat immigrants respectfully and already took in over 35,000 Syrians in the last two years.

They’re with us in NATO, they fought alongside us in World War I, World War II, Korea, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, Afghanistan, the Kosovo War and came to our defense after 9/11. There was that one time when Canada took a pass on one of our wars: Vietnam. Turned out to be a good call.

They’ve been steady consumers of American imports, reliable exporters of metals and petroleum products (they are the biggest importer of U.S. products from 37 states), and partnered with NASA in our space missions.

During 911 many aircraft were diverted to Newfoundland, an island province off Canada’s east coast where Americans were housed in people’s homes for two weeks and treated like royalty. In return for their hospitality, this administration slapped a 20% tariff on the products of Newfoundland’s only paper mill, thereby threatening it’s survival.

And what do Canadians expect of us in return? To be respected for who and what they are: Canadians. That’s what I call a good neighbor.

But the King of Chaos couldn’t leave well enough alone. Based on his delusions of perpetual victimhood, out of the clear blue, he’s declared economic war on Canada. On CANADA! And he did it based on Canada being a national security risk to the US! For no good reason, other than the voices in his head that told him it was a war he could win. So why not do it, then?

Trump went ahead and imposed his tariffs on aluminum and steel even though we have a trade surplus with Canada on those products! Trudeau retaliated in kind. And now this morning, the White House is preparing a new wave of tariffs in retaliation for Trudeau’s retaliation. This time he threatens a tariff on automobiles even though 70% of their components originate in the U.S.! It’s just a temporary spat, right? Except for that smile on Vladimir’s face in the Kremlin, as the NATO pact unravels a little more with each passing day.

Again, we’re talking about Canada. Our closest ally, friend and neighbor.
On behalf of an embarrassed nation, people of Canada, I apologize for this idiotic and wholly unnecessary attack. Please leave the back channels open. We the People of progressive persuasion stand with you.”

Not in my opinion. Sadly we are so overwhelmed by this stain it seems to be the only way to describe him. I am not familiar with those videos but will definitely check them out. As they say on TV, details at 11.

This video may have been meant for Monika, but I had to watch it 🙂 I recognized the name. Melanie had asked if I had seen his videos and I hadn’t and had forgot to look them up. Now thanks to you, I have had a wonderful laugh this morning that made tears come to my eyes!

“If our leaders seek to conceal the truth or we as people become accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts, then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom. If we do not as Americans confront the crisis of ethics and integrity in our society, and among our leaders in both public and private sector — and regrettably at times even the nonprofit sector — then American democracy as we know it is entering its twilight years. It is also that foundational commitment to truth and facts that binds us to other like-minded democratic nations — that we Americans will always deal with them from the same set of truths and facts, and it is truth that says to our adversaries, we say what we mean, and we mean what we say.”

You know my feelings when it comes to Trump, this letter echoes those feelings very well! It’s obvious that Canada knows very well what it means to be a good neighbor and friend! Unfortunately Trump has trouble grasping the very basic concepts of friendship, respect, and compassion for others. He can’t see past the nose on his face!
My sincere apologies to Canada. As the letter states, “please leave the back channels open”, don’t give up on America yet,there are many that stand with your great Country!
I am still thinking of the spaceship in my post this morning, if I could send it to the White House to pick up Trump, I would!

I only hope that Canadians will stand by us in the US while we “sort” things out. I truly believe America will be better in the long run because this narcissistic madman of a president has exposed our deepest flaws that we must face up to and get beyond. It will take time once Trump is gone – either through impeachment, implosion, or at the ballot – to unravel the rats nest he’s created but I believe we can and will do it. Stay with us in spirit if nothing else Canada!

One word: Bully. Well, OK, there are plenty of other words used in the mental health care industry, too, that fit. May the U.S. and the world survive it. Thanks, Colin, for sharing such an informative and well-written piece.

For a long time – through multiple Presidents – some of us in TX would prefer to share our nation’s support – both financially and physically with those in this hemisphere – our close neighbors rather than those far away. The old concept of “take care of your family, then turn and work with your neighbors, then once that is done, see what you can do to help others at a distance (if their neighbors aren’t)
We know many Canadians and especially are interested in the doctors who come here to live and work – to give us perspective on the Canadian healthcare system from their insiders’ view point (different than patient’s views sometimes)
Please do what you can there to show Canada is stronger than the US about domestic violence. Astro pitcher Mexican national Roberto Osuana is due in court (again) for sentencing. He plans to plead “not guilty” although the security video of him battering his girlfriend/wife/mother of his child on the stairs is very disturbing. He says “if he was American, maybe he’d understand”. Whatever that means. He has had violent episodes before – someone said something bad about his mother..and he said “that can make him lose his mind”
He hopes to get off with a “peace bond”. (Similar to a protective/restraining order here which simply says he must stay a certain distance from a person) https://medicinehatnews.com/news/national-news/2018/09/05/former-jays-pitcher-roberto-osunas-assault-case-adjourned-for-two-weeks/
So he beats up a girls and still gets to play the game and become a millionaire.
Please Canada, show the way. Show violence is not tolerated and has consequences.
It would be your best and most applauded export..

That lack of self-control would seem to be little more than the response of a child who could not get his own way. Let us hope that “due process” sees through the “Not Guilty” plea and makes an example of him.

Sadly, the sports world on both sides of our border is highly commercialized. The financial “bottom line” will be their priority, so we can only hope that the legal process is totally immune to the inevitable pressures to get him back playing asap.

Blue Jays were wise to trade him. Receiving fans are not happy…even if the teams says they are going to donate money to shelters and domestic violence causes…
Throwing money isn’t the solution.
Sooner or later people must take a stand – for so many things.
Keeping him in the public eye is about all we can do about it here. Thanks and paw waves..oh, sorry that was a soggy one. Have a great weekend!